Need visual reference for vintage sports venues

April 10, 2007 11:46 PM

I don't know anything about the history of sports venues and I need to find some visual reference...

...for the inside of an improv comedy club I work at. I am looking for photos showing interiors of stadiums, sports clubs, racetracks, etc from years gone by. The owner wants to reproduce the feeling of a vintage, bygone era sports venue. Bars, lights, halls, tables, wall decorations, etc.

I've searched online and I know the photos are out there, but I just don't know where to look. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

posted by squidfartz to media & arts (6 comments total)

Try the Smithsonian. It was mentioned here earlier. Do a metafilter search. They have a huge library.
posted by Gungho at 6:01 AM on April 11, 2007

How about contacting the photograph department of the National Baseball Hall of Fame?

Here are some Google Image Searches of some famous, old parks:

Ebbets Field

The Polo Grounds

Shibe Park

Sportsman's Park

Also here is a list from Wikipedia of curent and former Major League stadiums.
posted by fair_game at 7:20 AM on April 11, 2007

If you look on Amazon you will find a lot of books about this - esp old baseball parks. One book I recall is called "Diamonds". Your library is likely to have some of these.

Also, for searching, another name for the oldest classic ballparks is "jewel boxes".
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:06 AM on April 11, 2007

Stadiums in the United States
posted by growabrain at 8:06 AM on April 11, 2007

You're not looking for old ballparks, you're looking for artistic reflections of old ballparks and sports venues.

So, start looking at movies that take place in old ballparks and sports venues for that stylized nostalgia feeling. The Natural, Eight Men Out, Seabiscuit, Bull Durham, The Lou Gehrig Story, The Babe, The Ken Burns Baseball Documentary, Fever Pitch, A League of Their Own, etc...
posted by frogan at 8:52 AM on April 11, 2007

Thanks to everyone who responded. All of the answers are great. I'm a spaceship and robots guy myself, so this is all above my head.
posted by squidfartz at 8:25 PM on April 11, 2007